Disclaimer: I still don't own Glee or any of the characters ;)
Still Monday evening…
Brittany hears Santana whimper as she begins to respond to the kiss. Tan fingers thread into blonde locks as Santana swipes her tongue across Brittany's bottom lip. Brittany immediately parts her lips and allows the brunette to deepen the kiss, making both women moan as their tongues find a sensual rhythm. The need for air eventually makes the women break apart, but Brittany hasn't had her fill of the Latina yet so she starts trailing wet kisses along Santana's jawline and neck. Santana's knees go weak when Brittany latches on to her sweet spot and she thanks the heavens that Brittany's body is pressing her up against the wall or else she'd be a puddle on the floor right now. Brittany smiles against Santana's neck as she feels the smaller woman's body tremble.
Santana can't believe how quickly she's become putty in the hands of the taller woman. She realizes how easily her walls have fallen and how she constantly feels lost in a state of vulnerability whenever Brittany is around. That simply did not sit well with the strong, independent Latina. These thoughts scare her and jolt her back to reality, forcing her to gently push Brittany back while saying, "Brittany, Britt, wait… We can't… I can't…" she sighs, then continues, "This is a mistake." Every part of her being wants her to take those words back, but her brain pushes forward. She can't take this step. Not yet. It feels like too much, too soon.
Brittany takes a step back and looks into Santana's eyes. She sees the pleading stare the Latina is giving her, begging her to not push this any farther. She can tell the brunette is terrified to let her in. The blonde's pretty sure that if she pressed on, she'd shatter the walls the smaller woman is currently scrambling to put back in place. But she respects Santana. She won't push. Instead, she mumbles out a soft, "Sorry." Immediately, she sees the relief, and disappointment, flash across Santana's face and she knows she's making the right decision. She wants Santana to be sure about this. About them. It doesn't mean she'll completely back off, but for tonight, their moment is over.
Santana's quiet words break her train of thought. "Don't be sorry. I mean, it takes two to tango, right?"
Brittany grins a little at the dance reference and asks, "Friends?"
The Latina looks up at her through her lashes and confirms, "Friends."
"Okay, well, I'm gunna go then. Talk to you later?" the blonde asks, a little unsure.
"Definitely," responds the brunette.
The taller woman pulls Santana in for a gentle hug and feels the Latina melt a little in her arms. She knows there's still something between them. She just has to be patient. With that thought in mind, Brittany makes her way to the front door. As she's closing the door behind her, she turns around to give her favorite Latina a soft smile, which instantly gets reciprocated.
Santana turns around to see Roxy sitting on the couch staring at her.
"What?" the brunette asks her dog.
Roxy just stares at her with a look that Santana would swear to be a scowl.
"I know, I know. I probably just blew my chance with an amazing woman. But what if she turned out to be just like…her. I can't take that chance again," Santana explained to her pup as she grabbed her leash to take her out one last time before getting ready for bed.
Tuesday…
As soon as Santana walks into Pucktana's and shoots Puck and Sugar a friendly smile, they both know something is up. They hadn't seen a genuine smile on the Latina since early Friday evening. The two share a look and Sugar decides to take the lead on this one.
"Hey, San. What finally got that beautiful smile to make an appearance?"
"Huh? Nothing. I'm just in a good mood."
"You haven't been in a good mood since Friday night," Puck interjects.
"Well, I may or may not have talked to Brittany last night. Turns out, there was just a big misunderstanding. We're friends again," Santana replies, intentionally leaving out the part where Brittany gave her the most mind-blowing kiss of her entire life.
"Friends?" asks Sugar.
"Yes, friends," the brunette says, a little defensively.
"Oookay," Puck chimes in as he and Sugar share another knowing look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana snaps.
"Nothing!" Sugar jumps in before Puck really kills Santana's good mood. "We're just happy to see you happy again, aren't we Puck?" She glares at the man.
"Right! Yeah, of course."
"Mmhmm…sureee," Santana says with a slight smirk. "Well, enough about me, what's new with you two?"
Tuesday…
"So I'm guessing by that grin on your face, last night went well?" Tina questions Brittany as soon as the blonde makes her way up to the clinic doors to unlock them.
"Yes and no," replies Brittany cheekily.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Well, short version: I went to her place, she yelled at me, I yelled at her, we shared the most amazingly passionate kiss ever, and then left it as us being friends."
"Wait a minute! Hold the phone! You guys kissed?! But now you're just friends? I don't get it."
Brittany lets out a happy sigh. "It was the best kiss ever, Tina. But something snapped in her and she got spooked. I'm guessing it has to do with why she always has her guard up. I could see in her eyes how much she wanted it, but I could also see how scared she was. I couldn't push her when she was so emotionally vulnerable. We agreed to be friends, although I still plan on figuring out a way to win her over."
"Hmm, well I guess that's probably the smart thing to do. Hey, at least you know she's a really good kisser!" Tina says.
"Yeah she is…" Brittany says dreamily.
"Okay, c'mon Casanova, let's get the exam room prepped for our first appointment," Tina giggles.
Tuesday afternoon…
Brittany feels her phone vibrate right as she finishes up with the first appointment after lunch.
From Santana: "Thank you for coming over and knocking some sense into me last night. I'm really glad we're friends again :)"
To Santana: "Not a problem! Next time, I'll just make sure to not wait an entire weekend to barge into your place ;) lol"
From Santana: "There won't be a next time for that. I may be hot-headed and assume things prematurely, but at least I can say I learn from my mistakes."
To Santana: "Well that's good to know. How's your day going?"
From Santana: "Pretty good. I have an interview for a new bartender in a few minutes. Already had to fire the last one I hired…kid couldn't retain anything!"
To Santana: "Aww haha that's too bad. I'll let you get ready for your interview then. Good luck!"
From Santana: "Thanks! :)"
Brittany and Tina finish up the rest of the appointments and clean the clinic before they lock up for the day.
"Hey, Britt, do you wanna come over for dinner tonight? Mike's cooking on the grill!" Tina asks as they make their way to their cars.
"Thanks, Tina, but I can't. I'm having dinner with a former colleague. She's in town visiting relatives and we agreed to meet up before she goes back home. Raincheck?"
"Of course. Have fun tonight!"
"Thanks. Tell Mike I say hi!"
Tuesday evening…
On her way home from the bar, Santana realized she hadn't gone grocery shopping recently so she debated between stopping at the store or just getting takeout and going shopping tomorrow. Her rumbling stomach answered her question for her. Shopping will be postponed until tomorrow. She quickly checked the time and saw that it was only 7pm so she decided to swing by her favorite restaurant, Breadstix, and get something to go. She'd already been at the bar longer than expected and just wanted to get home for her pup. The brunette called ahead and placed her order, making sure to ask for extra breadsticks. She knew she was early when she pulled into the parking lot, so she decided to just go inside and wait, hoping there wasn't a long line for to-go orders. She wasn't waiting long before she heard her name being spoken, but it wasn't coming from the pick-up counter. She turned her head and saw Brittany walking over to her. The blonde was wearing a tight, yet classy, blue dress and had her hair down in loose curls. The sight momentarily took the brunette's breath away. She quickly recovered as Brittany came up right beside her and she greeted the taller woman with a hug.
"Hey, Britt!"
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Just picking up dinner to go and then heading home for Roxy. It's kinda been a long day for her so I didn't wanna make her wait for me to go grocery shopping. What are you doing here?" Santana wanted to compliment Brittany on her dress, but didn't want to cross her self-imposed boundaries in regards to the blonde.
"I'm waiting for…"
"Brittany Pierce!" another brunette shows up and interrupts her answer to Santana. "My, my, my look at you, you little stunner. You look absolutely amazing!" the woman husks as she grabs Brittany into a tight hug.
Santana stands there awkwardly as she sees the woman take a step back and devour the blonde with her gaze. Brittany senses Santana's discomfort and quickly realizes introductions need to be made.
"Oh! Emily, this is my friend, Santana. Santana, this is my friend, and former colleague, Emily."
"Nice to meet you," both women say politely.
Emily steps a little closer to Brittany and says, "Are you joining us? I thought I was going to get this pretty little thing all to myself tonight."
Santana narrows her eyes a bit at what the woman is insinuating, but catches herself and puts on a look of indifference before Brittany can see her initial reaction.
"No, no. I'm getting food to go."
Santana is pretty sure Brittany doesn't even realize she's being hit on by Emily. She isn't happy to be witnessing this interaction, but at least is taking some comfort in the fact that Brittany is in no way even attempting to flirt back with the woman. Her gaze has been on Santana for most of this conversation and the brunette thinks that might be why Emily is acting somewhat territorial right now. She's saved from this awkward moment when she hears her name being called at the pick-up counter.
"That's me. It was nice meeting you, Emily. Bye, Britt."
Before Santana can turn to walk away, Brittany pulls her into a hug that lasts just a little bit too long and whispers a gentle "Bye, Santana" in the Latina's ear. The small woman shivers when warm breath hits her ear and Brittany pulls away with a smug smirk before turning back to her other friend who's currently shooting daggers at the Latina with her eyes.
Santana pays for her food and hurries away from that awkward situation.
Wednesday…
"Well, that was short-lived. What happened to happy Santana?" Puck questions after Santana walks into Pucktana's and starts grumbling about having to restock the bar; something that should have been done last night after close.
"Nothing, I just didn't expect to walk into this today."
"Oh c'mon, San, we both know we always leave some restocking to do before we open. Wanna tell me what's really bothering you?"
"Not particularly."
"Okay, how about if I guess? Hmm…I'd say it probably has something to do with a certain blonde bombshell, right?"
"Ugh, it's not even a big deal. I just ran into her last night when I was picking up food to-go from Breadstix. She was meeting an old friend/colleague for dinner and the woman was seriously hitting on her as soon as she showed up. I didn't like seeing that, okay?"
"Wait, was Brittany on a date?"
"No, definitely not. I know Britt wouldn't already be going on a date with someone. She isn't like that. She also wasn't responding or encouraging any of the flirting…and was kind of giving me more of her attention while the three of us were talking. I'm not even sure if she realized her friend was basically hitting on her right in front of me. It just really sucked seeing someone else be interested in her, someone who wasn't afraid to flirt with her. I'm not stupid, I know there must be plenty of people out there who'd kill to even go on one date with her...let's face it, she's pretty amazing. I just didn't wanna see it firsthand."
"She's really gotten under your skin, hasn't she?"
"She has. Ugh, I don't know. Just being around her…it just…" the Latina trails off.
"It feels right with her, doesn't it?" Puck finishes her sentence for her.
Santana closes her eyes and sighs. "Yes," she admits.
"Then why the hell are you running away from her?!"
"I just…I don't know. I'm scared, okay? I don't know if I'll be able to take it if I fall for her and she turns out to be like all the others."
Puck's face softens as he pulls his friend in for a much needed hug. "Just take it one day at a time with her then, babygirl. See how things go."
Thursday evening…
Brittany walks into Pucktana's, hoping to surprise her favorite brunette. She sees Puck and Sugar behind the bar, but no Santana.
"Hey, guys," Brittany greets them upon reaching the bar.
"Hi, Brittany."
"Hi, Dr. Pierce!"
"Sooo, where's Santana?" Brittany asks while she still has the attention of Santana's friends.
Puck steps closer to answer the blonde. "This one here," he says pointing at Sugar, "was bored at home so she came in to work on her day off. I told Santana we could handle it and sent her home to relax for the night."
"Oh, well, I came here to surprise her but I guess I'll just head out since she's already left," the blonde says as she gets up to leave.
"No! Stay a while. Have a beer, on the house," Puck offers.
Brittany feels there's an ulterior motive somewhere here, but decides to take Puck up on his offer. He goes to grab her beer while Sugar tends to another patron who approached the other end of the bar.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Sooo…" Puck trails off.
"Sooo…" Brittany mimics, knowing she was right and figures Puck is about to grill her about something right now.
"You and Santana…"
"What about me and Santana?"
"I can tell she really likes you, Brittany."
"Well, that's good, because I really like her, too."
"Good, good. I can also tell that it's scaring the shit out of her. Santana's last girlfriend really did a number on her. She had basically closed herself off to letting anyone in, romantically, until you came along. I know she's still fighting herself right now, but you've pretty much already made it past her walls. Shit, she'd kill me on the spot if she knew I was telling you all this."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything," Brittany reassures him. Right now, she'll take any info she can get that might help her get closer to Santana and she knows Puck and Sugar are really the only people the Latina truly trusts.
"Well, like I said, her last girlfriend really did a number on her. Santana had been cheated on in the past, and Alex, her ex, knew that. She swore she'd never do something like that to Santana and Santana believed her. They were together for two years. Shit, Santana had a ring and everything. She was ready to propose...but then she caught Alex cheating. She found out Alex had been cheating on her for 6 months. Santana was absolutely crushed."
"I figured something had to have happened in a past relationship. Trust issues like hers don't come from nowhere…" the blonde trailed off.
"Look, Britt. Sugar and I have talked – again, don't tell Santana - and we both agree that if Santana falls for anyone, we'd love for it to be you. We think you'd be good for her."
"I'm glad to hear that, but what am I supposed to do? She keeps pushing me away every time we start to blur past the friendship line."
"Just be patient with her. Don't back off, but don't push her for anything until she's ready. Slowly win her over. She's already admitted to having feelings for you, you just have to wait until she's ready to truly accept and embrace those feelings. You need to prove to her that you're not like the women she's dated in the past. I know she wants to love again; she's just scared of being burned. Take her on dates, but don't call them dates. Woo her until she suddenly realizes that you've been dating for a while, and that she doesn't have to be afraid of her feelings for you."
"Thank you so much, Puck. I promise I'll do right by her and won't screw this up. She already means too much to me."
"I'm gunna hold you to that promise," Puck says with a smile.
"Alright, well, I'm gunna head out. Again, thanks for the advice. Have a good night, Puck."
"You, too. Bye, Britt."
A/N: So that explains why Santana is so scared to let anyone in. But Brittany is now more motivated than ever to win Santana over. Let's see who has more willpower!
Spoiler Alert!: Don't worry, I'm obviously Team Brittany. Brittana Forever!